After many virtual meetings the Executive Board of YEE and the Secretariat finally gathered in Prague on 9-11 January. The meeting had a general purpose of mutual understanding of current situation as well as to plan actions till the end of current term.
The meeting lasted only 3 days while the range of suggested topics for discussion was wide: evaluation of implementation of working plan 2013-2014, membership issues, external relations issues, internal communication, quality of projects and sustainability issues. Also the future of YEE and its financial situation were in the focus of discussion.

The new Board is concerned about possible ways to widen funding sources both to support projects of MOs and to increase independence of the YEE office. One of the solutions is a donation button on the website of YEE. Currently everyone is welcome to support "the Right to Be(e)" campaign by making a small donation on the website.
The Board paid attention to the performance of current member organisations and their activities. The Board also considered the applications of new organizations to YEE. This surely confirms growing interest to activities and values of YEE worldwide. We are looking forward to seeing new member organisations during the Annual Meeting of 2014. The Board has taken several decisions concerning Annual Meeting and the training course scheduled for this summer.
To save some money and to get closer to each other we cooked vegetarian lunch and dinners together. On the very last evening the Board had a chance to see former YEE Board members living in Prague and discuss with them our impressions and thoughts. That evening we could also see the wonderful city and some of its famous sights.
The physical board meeting brought us new wave of inspiration and creativity for the second half of the term. We are looking forward to implementing our ideas and plans and taking some steps to improve YEE for future generations.

Vasily Bashutkin
Publications and promotion officer